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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24112177">The case of the elusive abductor</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Snoozydog/pseuds/Snoozydog'>Snoozydog</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Sherlock (TV), Sherlock Holmes &amp; Related Fandoms</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Abduction, But so does other people, Creepy, Dark Character, Dark Mycroft Holmes, Dark Plot, Dubious Morality, Dubious behaviour, Holmes Brothers, John Watson In Love, John Watson Loves Sherlock Holmes, Lies, M/M, Manipulative Mycroft Holmes, Mind Games, Morally Ambiguous Character, Mycroft Holmes IS the British Government, Non-Established Sherlock Holmes/John Watson, Obsessive Behavior, Overprotective Mycroft Holmes, Scheming, Surveillance, Unresolved Sexual Tension, Voyeurism, dark secrets</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-03 01:15:42</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>16,721</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24112177</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Snoozydog/pseuds/Snoozydog</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When John Watson first met Sherlock Holmes he compared it to falling down the rabbit hole and never wanting to come back. But when Sherlock gets abducted and John is left with only Mycroft as his ally, trying to figure out exactly what's happened to Sherlock while collaborating against a foe that seems more elusive and skilled than anyone they  ever encountered before, John realises just how deep that rabbit hole really is, how nothing is what it seems to be and no one can truly be trusted.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Mycroft Holmes/Sherlock Holmes, Sherlock Holmes/John Watson</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>28</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Abduction</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Mycroft is usually the epitome of politeness and calm diplomacy, even at the most pressing of times, John has never seen him even remotely rattled even during situations that certainly would call for a bead of sweat breaking out on his forehead, a lip chewed in an act of anxiety or that glimmer of uncertainty that can mar even the most tranquil of faces.</p>
<p>But as John is interrupted in the middle of his morning routine, shaving foam still covering the left part of his chin, the scent of shower gel lingering in the air, the mirror in front of him somewhat foggy from steam, he immediately knows that something is seriously wrong as the shape of the ominous older Holmes brother appears behind him with something that to an outsider might be considered a marginally dishevelled look but to a true connoisseur is the tell-tale sign of Mycroft Holmes in a never before seen look of distress. </p>
<p>It’s quite a disturbing sight and John quickly lowers his razor to turn and face Mycroft to confirm that the image projected in his mirror isn’t some sort of illusion conjured up by a partly sleep-deprived mind that hasn’t yet been woken up properly by the aid of a cup of strong morning coffee. </p>
<p>But no, the man in front of him is indeed Mycroft in a state of worry beyond the normal arduous situation he constantly finds himself in for different reason, mostly to do with his younger brother and the activities he partakes in, but also because running the country from the side-line is a tiresome task at the best of times. </p>
<p>John can only conclude that Mycroft’s demeanour most probably has something to do with Sherlock though, he cannot imagine anything else rattling Mycroft in this fashion.</p>
<p>Granted, there isn’t much to indicate that the man in front of him is truly upset, it’s the small details, like the omission of a handkerchief in his breast pocket, the small pattern of crumbs on his front and the fact that his face has an expression that John up until this moment has never before seen on the man that is the British government, an expression he quite frankly didn’t think was part of the built-in hard drive that is Mycroft’s personality  because it would go against everything John so far has learned about Sherlock’s brother. </p>
<p>And yet, there it is, a bit skewed of course, because this is Mycroft after all and this can’t possibly be a recurrent look on his features ,but nonetheless, it’s there and it’s as close to panic as John has ever seen on a person so far removed from that feeling as is humanly possible. </p>
<p>Even when Mycroft has expressed a sense of worry and concern in the past it has never been accompanied by anything more than a bland expression occasionally complemented by a furrowed brow or some eyebrows raised in slight disapproval. </p>
<p>There is a reason for him having a moniker like “The Ice Man.”</p>
<p>But this, right now, is a man interrupted by news of a nature that has caused him to show up here in a slightly imperfect appearance. If the crumbs on his front are anything to go by, his morning routine was likely interrupted just like John’s is now, a hasty retreat from the breakfast table, his handkerchief seemingly forgotten in the haste. The fact that the thinning tresses of hair are also not at their best is perhaps the most sure sign that Mycroft, who normally puts a lot of effort into his appearance, has foregone to tame his hair in order to head straight out the door because of something that has been brough to his attention. </p>
<p>And since he is standing here, in the doorway of the still damp and steamy atmosphere of the bathroom in Baker Street, omitting to both knock or politely wait in the living room for John to emerge of his own accord, it means that his issue has something to do with Sherlock. </p>
<p>Naturally. </p>
<p>Nothing but Sherlock could cause a reaction like this, John is sure of it.</p>
<p>His own memory immediately jumps back to when he last saw his flatmate which was.....</p>
<p>.....his eyes narrow when realisation hits him and out of their own accord his fists clenches. It’s instinct, he isn’t even aware he is doing it but his body reacts automatically when the sense of a threat begins to take shape as his mind pieces together what he has in front of him, combined with what he knows of the past 24 hours. </p>
<p>Or more correctly, it is closer to 36 hours by now. </p>
<p>The fact that Sherlock Holmes sauntered out of their home in the early hours of the evening the day before yesterday with the elusive excuse of going to procure some samples of the South Bank beach mud to one of his experiments is the perfect explanation for John not putting much thought into his flatmate’s whereabouts.</p>
<p>It had frankly sounded like an excuse to go mudlarking during a time of the day when John much preferred the comfort and warmth of his own home, a microwaved ready to eat-Tikka Masala and the latest episode of “Taskmaster” on the telly. </p>
<p>He had gone to bed early and then woken up, gone to work and consequently come home exhausted with nothing but sleep on his mind after a particularly gruesome shift.  When waking up this morning, the door to Sherlock’s bedroom had been closed and since Sherlock, when deigning to sleep, was a late riser, John had thought nothing of it and gone about his usual morning routine instead. </p>
<p>Normally John isn’t this inattentive of his flatmate’s whereabouts, it is difficult to be when your flatmate is Sherlock Holmes - attention whore extraordinaire, but the saying “<i>out of sight, out of mind</i>” had apparently done it’s work this time and he had not allowed himself to get occupied by thoughts of Sherlock when hunger and sleep was already taking up the majority of his thought process.</p>
<p>This might clearly have been a mistake if the look on Mycroft’s face is anything to go by. </p>
<p>While pushing his way past the man in the doorway to head for Sherlock’s bedroom to see what sort of situation this is turning out to be, he barks over his shoulder at Mycroft, the barking indicating that he has gone into military mode now, as he tends to do when faced with what appears to be a threatening situation.</p>
<p>“What’s happened?”</p>
<p>He tears the door to the bedroom open just as Mycroft says:</p>
<p>“You won’t find him in there.”</p>
<p>Correctly the room is empty and looks more or less like it always does. </p>
<p>The door was probably closed when Sherlock left to collect the mud, but John cannot remember with certainty. Maybe someone has been here in John’s absence but it’s looking more likely that Sherlock never returned. </p>
<p>John swivels on his feet and is faced with Mycroft looking at him with a surprising amount of incapability for a man who is always two if not three steps ahead of everyone else. This sends further alarm bells ringing and John steps up to him to get a closer look.</p>
<p>“What’s happened? Where <i>is</i> he?”</p>
<p>The fact that Mycroft seems as close to helpless as a person who is always in control can possibly be, just causes John’s heart rate to pick up even further. </p>
<p>Not that he has ever particularly warmed up to the man who is Sherlock’s older and occasionally wiser brother. Mycroft’s personality tends to grate on John’s nerves, a feeling he is sure is fully reciprocated. They have learned to tolerate each other for Sherlock’s sake but there is nothing beyond tolerance and a half-hearted attempt at politeness. </p>
<p>If people think Sherlock is a full-time arse to the general population they have yet to encounter Mycroft at his most condescending and pompous self. It’s frankly a whole new level of arseholeness and if you consider the fact that John’s flatmate is Sherlock bloody Holmes – the official face of snark himself, and that John has spent a substantial amount of time both in the military and around overachievers in medicine, two fields known for harbouring a lot of overblown egos, it speaks volumes that Mycroft stills ends up on top of the list.</p>
<p>But the man who is standing in front of John right now seems utterly incapable of being neither patronising nor in control of the situation.</p>
<p>When he does finally speak, he sounds close to broken.</p>
<p>“I came here with the foolish hope that my intel might have been mistaken and that my brother would actually be here, despite all evidence pointing to the contrary,” he says with a tone of hollowness that makes John’s frown deepen and his heart pound even faster.</p>
<p>“And what does that mean? You’re not making any sense!”</p>
<p>Without a word Mycroft turns his back on him and moves away, heavily slumping down in what is officially John’s chair even if Mycroft probably considers it <i>his</i> chair as it is the one he invariably choses, even when Sherlock’s chair is available. </p>
<p>Not many people choose to sit in the black leather Corbusier, it is so quintessentially Sherlock that everyone always goes for the other one, even when Sherlock is pacing the room instead and not occupying it. </p>
<p>John did once give it a try, one afternoon when Sherlock was out, just to get the feel of it, see what the fuss was all about, but it felt like intruding on something he wasn’t supposed to be doing and he didn’t stay seated long enough to really feel what it was like. </p>
<p>Sherlock did cast him, as well as the chair, a scrutinizing look when he returned home a few hours later, but he didn’t say anything, so maybe it was just John’s own imagination playing tricks on him, the same way he felt like a bit of a thief when he once borrowed some of that expensive shampoo Sherlock keeps in the bathroom, before going on a date. </p>
<p>If that product is the magical explanation for Sherlock’s glossy and soft curls John wasn’t averse to having some of it in his own hair, but as he had worked it into his own tresses the overpowering scent of Sherlock had unmistakably made itself known in the air of the bathroom, for some reason making John feel guilty despite not knowing why that was, and he had quickly taken his own much cheaper version of Wash n Go to massage into his scalp to replace the feeling of treading on dangerous waters. Luckily for him, he managed to evaporate the scent by opening up a window and he decided to not try Sherlock’s products any more. </p>
<p>Officially he has told himself afterwards that it would have been embarrassing to be caught walking around smelling like Sherlock, but the unofficial reason remains uncomfortably festering deep down in his own conscience where he seldom ventures to look more closely. </p>
<p>When Mycroft remains quiet, just staring into the nothingness in front of him, John breaches his own rules of protocol that he normally tries to maintain with Mycroft by keeping a distance, both physical as well as mental. </p>
<p>When Mycroft usually comes on one of his prying visits under the guise of a case he wants Sherlock to take a look at, John tries to stay out of their way if possible, he has no interest in partaking in any verbal warfare between two super brains with a penchant for communicating through thinly veiled insults, forever stretched-out silences and straight out childish jabs delivered through clenched teeth regarding everything from recurring weight gain to inferior intelligence. </p>
<p>That Mycroft still bothers with keeping his sibling under such close scrutiny with the aid of extensive surveillance is a bit peculiar when you get the feeling that the two of them hardly can stand each other, but maybe fraternal duty weighs heavier than whatever dislike Mycroft might harbour against Sherlock and vice versa. </p>
<p>Right now, Mycroft actually looks like he might be caring just a little bit after all, but unfortunately, he remains uncommunicative.</p>
<p>John feels his fingers itching with the impulse to slap Mycroft out of his silence. </p>
<p>That is something he picked up in the army, people too shell-shocked to react could be jump-started into action by a well-aimed slap to the cheek and a firm tone of voice. </p>
<p>But the physician in him knows that it’s not the professional way to go about things, especially not with a person who probably could send him to a well-hidden Gulag in a forgotten part of the world, never to be heard from again. </p>
<p>That is the other thing about Mycroft that John does not particularly care for. He is not afraid of him per se, but at the same time, John isn’t stupid enough not to recognise what a man like Sherlock’s brother could actually do to you if he felt inclined.  And the glimmer in his eyes normally sending arctic temperatures to the person on the receiving end of his stare is a clear indicator that it would not be a hardship to do away with those who he wishes to get rid of. </p>
<p>The only person who really is safe from Mycroft’s ominous power is Sherlock, another proof that despite their constant sniping and bickering, little brothers are apparently off limits even to a man who has the potential to ruin a person’s whole existence.</p>
<p>So instead John opts to use his professional voice and trample down his own panic for a second.</p>
<p>“Why don’t you begin by telling me what exactly it is that has happened?”</p>
<p>Without turning his attention to John Mycroft begins to speak, but his voice sounds distant, he is clearly lost in thought.</p>
<p>“....I never....imagined…I mean, he came highly recommended and was vetted like all the others.....” he murmurs and John has to put all his efforts into not shaking him despite his earlier decision to remain calm. One of them has to keep a cool head and as surprising as that sounds, it seems like it’s going to be him.</p>
<p>“Who? <i>What’s </i>going on? Has something happened to Sherlock?”</p>
<p>That last question is clearly redundant because Mycroft wouldn’t be here if Sherlock was alright, but he can’t think of another way to get to the core of the issue without stating the obvious.</p>
<p>“Is he in some kind of danger? Have you alerted the police?”</p>
<p>At this last question Mycroft lets out what sounds like something between a snort, a sob and a laugh. </p>
<p>“<i>They</i> won’t be able to help, he is far too experienced to get caught. This isn’t one of Sherlock’s little puzzles where his loyal Detective Inspector merrily follows his lead and everything turns out dandy in the end.”</p>
<p>Ignoring the clear insult hidden in the description of what it is Sherlock does for a living, not to mention Lestrade’s actual profession, John feels himself beginning to reach the end of his patience.</p>
<p>“<i>Who</i>, Mycroft? I can’t help you if you’re not telling me exactly what’s happened!”</p>
<p>“You won’t be able to help either. I only came here in a last wishful effort that they might have been wrong. I knew they wouldn’t be, but....” </p>
<p>His voice breaks off and he resumes to stare into the air. </p>
<p>It’s very unsettling to see him like this.</p>
<p>“Who are <i>they</i>? Your intel?”</p>
<p>Mycroft nods.</p>
<p>“Yes. They should know, they worked with him. He managed to fool them all. Me included.”</p>
<p>John bristles at these words. </p>
<p>He doesn’t have time for this. If Sherlock is in some kind of danger they need to act now! </p>
<p>Why is Mycroft being so infuriatingly immobile and slow? </p>
<p>Unless....?</p>
<p>The mention of intel could certainly imply that Mycroft’s issue might perhaps be staff-related, but why this unorthodox behaviour? </p>
<p>“Forgive me for not quite getting your point, Mycroft, but is Sherlock in danger or are you just having a very ill-timed crisis because you can’t figure out the whereabouts of your little brother?” </p>
<p>He can hear how curt he sounds but doesn’t care. And evidentially it’s what Mycroft needs to hear to snap out of the immediate impassive state. </p>
<p>“Sherlock has been....well, I guess abducted is the appropriate word even if he possibly went quite willingly and the abductor certainly won’t harm him. But what else would you call a scenario where someone lures another person away with the intent of not returning, <i>ever</i> if evidence is to be believed.”</p>
<p>John’s eyes widen while his mind attempts to wrap itself around the words coming from Mycroft’s mouth. </p>
<p>Sherlock abducted? </p>
<p>Well, it isn’t the first time certainly, it’s an occupational hazard when being a consulting detective dealing with a lot of criminals on a regular basis, but there is something about this incident that has Mycroft rattled beyond reason. </p>
<p>And what was that about not ever returning?</p>
<p>“What?” He manages to exclaim while a million thoughts fight for dominance inside his head.</p>
<p>Mycroft lets out a heavy sigh while he lets his hand draw slowly over his face in exhaustion. </p>
<p>“Jeremy Marcus, former MI6 agent recruiter, previously working mainly with those stationed in Northern Africa but....well, circumstances led to him being called home and redirected to work for MI5 instead a few years ago. He worked mainly with recruiting new agents, wetting them and so forth and I have employed his services on numerous occasions during the years. Always impeccably competent and incredibly talented at his task. So naturally I also chose him whenever I needed to recruit people handling the surveillance of my brother. And up until now I have never had any reason to complain.”</p>
<p>“But now....?”</p>
<p>“Now my other agents inform me that he apparently developed some sort of unhealthy obsession with Sherlock. Not too openly it seems, even if there supposedly was some lose gossip about his insistence of being the one in charge of camera surveillance. Naturally, that never reached my ears but believe me when I say that heads will roll on account of that omission of information.”</p>
<p>Mycroft pauses as he tries to compose himself, before continuing.</p>
<p>“It seems Jeremy Marcus has decided to be the sole carer of Sherlock from now on.....” </p>
<p>John can’t help but frown at that phrasing. “<i>Sole carer</i>” as if that was <i>anyone’s</i> job before this happened. Like Sherlock isn’t capable of looking after himself. </p>
<p>Maybe in Mycroft’s opinion he isn’t, or maybe that is <i>his</i> role to play? The phrasing also implies a more intimate relationship than what normally exists between an abductor and his victim. There is nothing caring about keeping another person captive in John's opinion!</p>
<p>“....And when I say that he was competent in his occupation,” Mycroft drones on as John tunes in once again, “that unfortunately means that he knows how to disappear without leaving any traces, as well as knowing how to hack into every security system we have. He knows all the tricks in the book and I couldn’t have been faced with a worse adversary if I had made the selection myself!”’</p>
<p>When delivering these last words his voice actually hitches a little bit and even if such a reaction would be completely normal in a sibling who has just been reached with the news that his younger brother has been abducted, by a secret service agent no less, it still strikes John how odd it is to see Mycroft like this. Quite frankly he didn’t think the man had it in him to show emotions of any kind, happy nor sad. </p>
<p>Shaking the unease he feels when witnessing this unusual behaviour from Mycroft while simultaneously trying to keep his own rising panic in check, he decides that he needs more information and also a plan of action. </p>
<p>This isn’t the first time Sherlock has been abducted, but none the less, this does indeed sound like a foe above average if Mycroft is anything to go by, and despite trying to remain calm in the face of danger, John hopes for this to be over with soon enough. </p>
<p>Like all the other times when Sherlock has seemingly been in trouble and yet been back home by teatime the following day at the latest. </p>
<p>This knowledge is what helps John through situations like these, when they have not been standing side by side facing an enemy together, the unwavering trust in Sherlock’s ability to always land on his feet somehow, however dire the situation. </p>
<p>Otherwise John would be a constant wreck of nerves considering how often they end up in dangerous scenarios. </p>
<p>Despite the rush of adrenaline that surges through him in the face of action, there are limits to what he is willing to endure, and a line is strictly drawn when it comes to the safety of his flatmate. </p>
<p>But despite feeling relatively secure in the knowledge that Sherlock has always managed to get himself out of every tricky situation thrown his way so far, John also knows that <i>he</i> needs to act his own part for that to happen. So why the bloody hell isn’t Mycroft sticking to the script as well this time? </p>
<p>Mycroft’s part is to act cold and calculating in the eye of the storm, concerned obviously, it is his brother after all, but nonetheless, always ready to dip his fingers into his vast amount of resources to help them out of whatever jam Sherlock has managed to get himself or both of them into. It’s not optional to suddenly change character traits, these are the rules!</p>
<p>Whatever impassiveness Mycroft is displaying at the moment, it will not be John’s course of action. He is more like a badger with his teeth dug deep into a victim’s leg, never letting go, when his mind is set to it, and nothing causes his protectiveness to flare quite like Sherlock under threat. </p>
<p>The question is why Mycroft seems so uncharacteristically passive. This is his brother after all! The sole person John has ever seen Mycroft do anything out of the ordinary for, well and beyond ordinary in fact if you consider the extensive ways he has always gone about protecting, worrying and looking after Sherlock, despite never earning so much as a thank you from the person at the centre of his all-embracing attention. </p>
<p>This new behaviour is strange beyond comprehension and John can’t for the life of him figure it out. </p>
<p>He can’t believe <i>he</i> is the one trying to get to the bottom of a situation Mycroft should be working on already.</p>
<p>“If you start from the beginning, what is it that you know for a fact?” </p>
<p>John tries to keep Mycroft on the subject as he seems to be gravitating towards silence once more. He has risen from John’s chair, and is lightly swaying, still staring in front of him as if looking within himself for some answers.</p>
<p>Luckily he seems easily persuaded to continue talking at least.</p>
<p>“I received a call this morning informing me that my brother had gone missing. Not completely unusual, as you very well know, so even if it annoyed me, I wasn’t particularly worried at first. The people in charge were not very forthcoming about details but it was implied that some time had passed between his disappearance and them reporting about it to me, a clear sign that they were accustomed to him disappearing off the radar occasionally as well. In an effort to get to the bottom of this, I reached out to the head of surveillance, Mr Jeremy Marcus, to suss out the situation, knowing that if anyone would have some answers, it would be him. But despite many efforts to reach him, no one was able to, and forty minutes after the initial phone call, I received another one, informing me that Mr Marcus was missing as well.”</p>
<p>Mycrofts starts pacing, not unlike Sherlock when deep in thought and John takes a seat in his chair to get out of the way.</p>
<p>“They went to his home, and then to his office but everything was wiped clean and left empty, like he had never been there. Not a single trace of his existence left behind.”</p>
<p>John nods to himself, but not letting his eyes move away from Mycroft’s pacing form. It does indeed sound suspicious but still very vague. There has to be more to it, otherwise Mycroft would not be so worked up about it.</p>
<p>“And you now believe he has Sherlock. Why is that?”</p>
<p>Mycroft clams his mouth shut for a second as he comes to a halt in front of the fireplace. He is staring at his own reflection in the mirror placed above it. </p>
<p>This is also eerily familiar to Sherlock when he sometimes stops in the middle of a rambling session and almost surprised catches his own reflection. But where Sherlock seems to momentarily and somewhat vainly get distracted by what he sees in the mirror, runs a hand through his curls or absently straightens his collar, Mycroft seems to get uncomfortable when faced with the image of himself and he quickly turns around again, as if looking at something unagreeable.</p>
<p>There is clearly something he isn’t telling John.</p>
<p>But when he finally deigns to speak he sounds close to normal again, the mask of his usual indifference and calculating persona beginning to settle back in it’s place. It’s almost eerie to observe, perhaps mostly because the mask was off in the first place.</p>
<p>“It’s hardly a coincidence that my brother and the man in charge of his surveillance team are both missing at the same time. If you add into the mix that Jeremy Marcus has erased every evidence of his existence  before he disappeared and then also the rumour, however loose, that he seemed to have been a bit too keen regarding his position as head of surveillance, it doesn’t take Sherlock Holmes to figure out what’s happened,” Mycroft dryly concludes.</p>
<p>“But what makes you think this will be a permanent state? You said that you feared Sherlock would never come back....?”</p>
<p>Mycroft sighs.</p>
<p>“With a man like Mr Marcus, the prognosis isn't very positive. Like I said, he is the most competent in his area of expertise that I have ever encountered. He also knows the consequences if he ever tried coming back from something like this....”</p>
<p>“You’re forgetting how competent Sherlock is....,” Joh begins but Mycroft only shakes his head. </p>
<p>“To a certain extent yes, my brother is undoubtedly very clever. But this....No, he won’t be able to escape. Most likely his abductor has had this planned for a while, it’s hardly a spur of the moment kind of thing and I have never known him to make a mistake.”</p>
<p>“But you mentioned that he was sent down from his position within MI6?”</p>
<p>“That wasn’t a mistake on his part. Quite contrary in fact, he was proving to be....<i>too thorough</i> in his profession. It doesn’t matter in this situation, it’s all classified information anyway. But let’s just say that the man is the most skilled at what he does among a group of people where <i>everyone</i> is at the top of their game.”</p>
<p>John sighs and lifts his hand to run it over his face, forgetting that he still has shaving cream across the one half. His fingers touching the moistness of his cheek makes him aware of this and he rises to his feet.</p>
<p>“You can’t seriously tell me that you have already admitted defeat at this early stage, Mycroft. But if you are not willing to assist in the rescue of your own brother, I will have to do it on my own.”</p>
<p>This finally earns him a reaction more resembling Mycroft’s usual repertoire.</p>
<p>“Don’t be <i>absurd</i>. Naturally I will do everything in my power to retrieve him. But I’m not ignorant of the circumstances and neither should you be. Whatever criminal foes you two have previously encountered, this is a whole new level of expertise and it would be unwise of me not to inform you of this.”</p>
<p>“Every new, above average criminal we have encountered is always a new level of expertise. It doesn’t mean that they are better than Sherlock in the long run. Or <i>you</i> for that matter. I’m actually more than a bit surprised by your lack of action.”</p>
<p>This clearly annoys Mycroft.</p>
<p>“Oh, I have sprung into action already, believe me. I have every man at my disposal working on the case as we speak. But I’m also a realist, Dr Watson, and this time I’m afraid that the odds are working against us.”</p>
<p>He straightens his waistcoat and notices the crumbs on his chest for the first time. His hands waiver above them for a second before he brushes them off and then he turns away.</p>
<p>“If I might use your bathroom for a moment, I’ll be right back.”</p>
<p>And then he stalks off, leaving John staring at his retreating back before he jumps into action himself and heads up to his own bedroom to get dressed and retrieve whatever he deems necessary to take with him in the hunt of a person he as of yet has no clue what to expect from.</p>
<p>Inside his own room he wipes his face clean on a discarded towel left on a chair and heads for his wardrobe to pick out a warm jumper as the weather outside is rather bleak. </p>
<p>For some reason his senses are all on high alert and for a second he thinks he hears Mycroft move about downstairs. But then the door to the bathroom has not yet been opened up, the lock on the bathroom door has been giving away a squeaky noise as of late, probably in dire need of some  greasing up, so he would have heard Mycroft unlock the door.</p>
<p>And as if to confirm that assumption he hears the tap spring to life downstairs a few seconds later and he eases into the feeling that he is wired too tightly on account of the unexpected news of Sherlock’s abduction, and then takes out the clothes he needs and hastily gets dressed, takes his gun, wallet and mobile before charging downstairs again just as Mycroft opens the bathroom door and exits. </p>
<p>Less than a minute later they are out of the flat, climbing into the black car Mycroft has at his disposal and they’re off.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Quagmire</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The fruitless search for Sherlock and the elusive Jeremy Marcus is leading them nowhere fast and John is beginning to despair. Meanwhile he also makes a disturbing discovery.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>36 hours later John is functioning on the small remnants of adrenaline he has left. With the lack of sustenance and sleep as well as the ever-increasing stress of the horror that has began to hold him in a even firmer grip within every passing minute, he feels close to a collapse.</p>
<p>Ever since leaving the Baker Street flat, the picture of Sherlock’s fate has presented itself more clearly with every additional detail presented to them and the threat of despair is tugging at every nerve-end of his being.</p>
<p>The man called Jeremy Marcus has done a phenomenal job it seems. Not a trace in sight of anything regarding his whereabouts, nor Sherlock’s. </p>
<p>It’s so inclusive in fact that it isn’t even certain that he actually has Sherlock, if not for the glaring point that they both seem to have vanished at the same time.  </p>
<p>That is the only clue they have and under circumstances it isn’t much. </p>
<p>No camera feeds, no appearances at airports or docks, no mysterious vehicles moving about that would catch attention. Nothing but a completely empty flat where Mr Marcus used to live, devoid of anything that could give them any clues. </p>
<p>Despite scouring hours and hours of CCTV-footage, talking to people in contact with Mr Marcus, people in contact with Sherlock, trying to track down any unusual activity around the time of the disappearance, there is nothing. </p>
<p>Absolutely nothing. </p>
<p>John didn’t know such a thing could even be possible but if Mycroft was actually impressed by this man prior to the unfolding of recent events, it says something about the level Marcus is operating on. Mycroft is normally never impressed by anyone.</p>
<p>By now, John is as close to breaking down as he has ever been, reality hitting him hard with every dead-end they reach. </p>
<p>He presses fists to his eye sockets to prevent them from stinging, from welling up, both with despair as well as fatigue. He can’t afford to lose focus, can’t capitulate, there is no other option but to find Sherlock. The appendix of “dead or alive” is too horrific to consider, so he doesn’t.</p>
<p>Mycroft seems to have pulled himself together from the initial shaky appearance. He is micromanaging everything now, despite his claims earlier that it will prove to be fruitless attempting to catch this man.</p>
<p> John isn’t foolish enough to think that Mycroft is keeping up appearances on his account, most likely it’s just a coping mechanism, just as his own efforts at trying not to unravel when the situation begins to paint it’s ugly picture for them to brutally witness. </p>
<p>He can’t afford to lose focus and yet his bodily functions as well as his brain screams at him to take a break, he won’t be able to continue forever without it. </p>
<p>And at the moment there really isn’t much for him to do.  </p>
<p>He is sitting in a chair in the back of one of the surveillance rooms that Mycroft has at his disposal and watches five mean go through endless footage from every angle of every possible location available and yet coming up with nothing so far.</p>
<p> Mycroft himself isn’t there at the moment, he is off talking to those keeping a look-out at the borders and despite knowing that nothing has come up so far and a great deal of time has passed already, John is not willing to give up hope just yet, and apparently Mycroft needs something to put his focus on as well.</p>
<p>When he returns John can see that Mycroft has no news to offer and he sags a little further in his chair. </p>
<p>He doesn’t like feeling useless but there is nothing for him to do right now, unless he joins the team watching camera feeds and with his eye-sigh beginning to lose focus on account of the lack of sleep, he can’t risk missing anything vital by offering his services. </p>
<p>He has been to Jeremy Marcus’s flat, watched the emptiness of the rooms himself, he has been to the river banks where Sherlock was headed on the night of his disappearance, he has tried talking to Molly, Lestrade, Gregson, Dimmock, heck even to Anderson, but so far he has nothing to show for his efforts. </p>
<p>He has even tried getting in contact with people from the homeless network, a rather difficult task as he has no idea where to find them, but so far he is just as empty-handed as he was when they left Baker Street.</p>
<p>Mycroft has joined the men in front of the surveillance screens so his back is turned against John, but it’s not difficult to figure out who he is addressing when he finally speaks, after a few minutes of silence, concentration glued to the screens in front of him.</p>
<p>“I can order a car to take you home for some food and a few hours of sleep. You won’t be able to remain focused forever and you’re no good to Sherlock if you pass out.”</p>
<p>It’s not a reprimand, simply delivered in a factual tone, Mycroft forever being the pragmatic one. </p>
<p>And John knows he is right, and yet it is so difficult to admit defeat. </p>
<p>For once he can see why Sherlock foregoes food and sleep while working cases, it causes an interruption he isn’t willing to take. But unlike Sherlock, John recognises the truth in Mycroft’s words. He needs to refuel his energy levels, otherwise he won’t be of any use.</p>
<p>But the idea of returning to Baker Street doesn’t sit well with him, it’s too far removed from everything that is happening here, returning to Baker Street would be like admitting defeat. </p>
<p>Besides, he isn’t sure he would be able to face Mrs Hudson. </p>
<p>He isn’t sure what she knows by now, it’s possible that she is still kept in the dark, he didn’t take the time to explain things to her when he left and Mycroft would hardly waste the energy to do so. In his eyes, their land lady is nothing but a snooping nuisance of a scandalmonger that blocks his entrance by the door every time he comes to visit, irony of course preventing him from seeing himself as exactly that with his own check-ups of his brother’s activities. </p>
<p>So instead of accepting Mycroft’s offer of a car taking him home, John shakes his head in stubborn decline despite the fact that Mycroft can’t possibly see him with his back turned. But because he is a Holmes, Mycroft excels at knowing what takes place behind his back anyway and John can tell that his frustration increases by his refusal to comply.</p>
<p>“There is a bedroom at the back if you’re unwilling to return home. I can have someone bring you a sandwich, but other than that I can’t waste time caring for your needs when my focus should be on finding my brother.”</p>
<p>Still pragmatic, but with a touch of ice in his tone now. </p>
<p>
  <i>Take it or leave, you won’t be offered anything else. </i>
</p>
<p>John feels his shackles rise for a second, because he hasn’t demanded a damn thing out of this man except for him to find Sherlock and so far those demands have not been met with satisfying results. </p>
<p>But then he rises from his chair nonetheless, his feet a bit wobbly before he straightens his spine, draws a hand across his face and nods. </p>
<p>There is logic in Mycroft’s words after all, he needs the energy and even if it grates on his nerves to accept an offering like this, presented like he is some sort of charity case, he will take it for now. </p>
<p>Maybe he will wake up to the news of some development if he’s lucky.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>When he does wakes up a few hours later Mycroft has left and the men in front of the screens are new ones, fresh-faced and keen, full focus on their task but despite this John can feel despair howling inside of him. </p>
<p>No progress then.</p>
<p>He eats the sandwich that has been left on a plate for him while he leaves the surveillance room to clear his head. </p>
<p>He knows that they are somewhere in the cellar of a nondescript building that Mycroft apparently uses as some sort of surveillance headquarters, most likely not in an official capacity since the surveillance has to do with his brother. Mycroft is as slippery as an eel and probably has other buildings as well that caters to his every need, workwise as well as practicing what he does in a more private capacity. </p>
<p>John doesn’t even want to begin contemplating what someone like Mycroft really gets up to without anyone knowing.  </p>
<p>Sherlock did call him the most dangerous man John was likely to meet, on that first nigh together at Baker Street. And Sherlock should know what he’s talking about after all, considering circumstances. </p>
<p>That night seems like ages ago now, so much time that has passed since then, so many developments, especially when it comes to the relationship that has grown between him and Sherlock over time. </p>
<p>It never had the opportunity to simply be a flatmate arrangement, not when the first 24 hours of their acquaintance had them chasing a serial killer, John firing his army weapon through a window saving Sherlock from ingesting a possibly poisonous pill, being interviewed by Mycroft in an abandoned warehouse and then ending the evening by playing ignorant to Lestrade’s questioning looks before being whisked off to a Chinese restaurant for a well-deserved dinner. </p>
<p>There was no going back after that. </p>
<p>John had fallen straight through the rabbit hole face first and found himself in the company of the Mad Hatter ever sense, with the Cheshire Cat in the shape of Mycroft as some sort of often annoying side-note to his every-day life cohabiting with Sherlock Holmes.  </p>
<p>It was ridiculous and bonkers most of the time and yet John would never ever want to return to the ordinary and often dull existence his life had been before they met. For him, crawling out of the rabbit hole was never goig to be an option.</p>
<p>Unlikely as a friendship developing under these conditions sounded, it had in fact happened, and for a brief second they had stayed content in that phase, until John’s subconscious started yearning for something more and he developed feelings that in the beginning resembled nothing more than a silly crush he most of the time tried to ignore. </p>
<p>But soon enough that crush turned more serious and eventually formed into full-blown sexual desire combined with genuine love and affection for Sherlock and John realised that if he thought that he had already reached the bottom of the rabbit hole earlier, he was in fact still falling and had no idea how the force of impact would affect him when finally hitting the ground. There was always the risk that it would all end in a big painful crash for him, the further down he went. And yet, he never hesitated.</p>
<p>He had come to the realisation that he was in love with Sherlock a few months ago despite many efforts trying to tamper those feelings down. </p>
<p>He did not want to complicate things further by professing these unbidden emotions that the other man very likely was not going to reciprocate. And at the same time a voice inside of him whispered that maybe, just maybe, Sherlock felt the same way. And one day, soon hopefully, he was going to put that theory to the test.</p>
<p>But for now he had not done anything actively to let Sherlock know how he felt, even if he wasn’t sure he had been doing a very good job at hiding these newly developed feelings despite the fact that  Sherlock was admittedly very slow to realise things when it came to matters of the heart. </p>
<p>Lately though John had a started to suspect  that Sherlock had begun to catch on. </p>
<p>Not willing to press the matter further so as not to spook his emotionally-stumped flatmate, John had tried to reign in his more obvious desires by acting as normal as possible, focusing a bit more on his work to give them both some space, and simply behaving like the friend he, at the end of the day, still was.</p>
<p>That had been the lay of the land on the evening when Sherlock disappeared and also the reason why John subconsciously had not sought out Sherlock’s company after returning from work. </p>
<p>That had clearly been a huge mistake and now he keeps wondering if he should tell Mycroft about the reason behind that decision. </p>
<p>Big brother must secretly wonder why such an amount of time could pass without John noticing that Sherlock was gone. Tired or not, John always navigates directly to wherever Sherlock is located. </p>
<p>On the one time he doesn’t, the man gets abducted by a former intelligence agent and is nowhere to be found!</p>
<p>The idea of talking about his budding feelings of affection for Sherlock to his even more emotionally constipated older brother doesn’t sit well with him though. </p>
<p>He can’t even imagine how to begin a conversation like that.</p>
<p> And considering how protective Mycroft is of his little brother, John can’t really see such information being well-perceived by the man who is charge of a whole group of secret service agents and probably could ruin John's life with the snap of his fingers.</p>
<p>Shaking his head to rid himself of the quite idiotic blathering that he has no use of right now, he walks further away from the surveillance room, going down the hall.</p>
<p>Focusing is to be his guiding light and nothing else! </p>
<p>Whatever he might feel for Sherlock must be put on the backburner for now, it will only serve him as a painful reminder of what he has lost if he keeps dwelling on sentiment.</p>
<p>He passes two closed doors that he doesn’t attempt to open, but as he passes the room he slept in and reaches the end of the hall, there is a door in front of him as well, and this time he reaches out a hand to turn the handle.</p>
<p> It’s locked naturally, this is Mycroft’s domain after all, but just as he is about to turn and head back, the door is opened from the inside and a man peaks out. </p>
<p>He looks more or less like the other goons Mycroft employs, but perhaps a bit younger and he actually raises his eyebrows in question while silently asking John if there is anything he wants.</p>
<p>“Sorry, sorry, just stretching my legs,” John begins and straightening himself to look more put-together. He feels short in the presence of these men in black suits and it irks him that he cares, but secretly he does and he tries his best to look taller, more solid, like the former army doctor that he is. </p>
<p>The other man remains where he is, looking at John, as if he expects further information and John decides to try forming a connection with the people who are working to obtain Sherlock, humanise at least one of them so he has someone he can talk to, to get the information he is sure Mycroft will not divulge if not straight-out asked. </p>
<p>John hates the feeling of being left out. He is allowed to be here but is rendered close to useless by not being given a task to perform and the clock is ticking away mercilessly. </p>
<p>“I didn’t want to disturb, I just.....is there any further news?” he asks.</p>
<p>The man turns his gaze over John’s head as if he’s looking for his employer to give him permission to speak, but as that is not an option he turns his eyes back to meet with John’s questioning ones.</p>
<p>“Not really, no, Dr Watson. Mr Holmes will let you know as soon there is.”</p>
<p>He is about to close the door once more when John takes a step forward, his hand up in a preventive gesture.</p>
<p>“Wait. Do you have a second? Please, I just need to talk to someone.”</p>
<p>If there is a tone of begging in his voice he isn’t going to admit it, especially when the man looks at him like he can’t believe he is stuck babysitting the victim’s left-over flatmate. But then his professionalism kicks in nonetheless and he nods, opening up the door to let John in.</p>
<p>The room is not as big as the one where the others are seated, there is just one screen available, one computer and an empty chair next to a table where the agent must have been seated when John interrupted him. </p>
<p>“What is your assignment?” he asks, looking at the screen. </p>
<p>Then he lets out a gasp, because what the man has been looking at is nothing other than the living room back at Baker Street, with Sherlock sitting in a chair, a cup of tea to his lips, the frame frozen just as the lower lip is about to connect to the porcelain.</p>
<p>Angrily John turns his head to stare at the agent who looks nothing but calm and unaware of the myriads of questions whirling inside John’s head this very minute, threatening to cause a major blow-up any second.</p>
<p>“What’s this??!” he hisses and closes the distance between them, jerking his head in the direction of the screen.</p>
<p>The agent seems utterly clueless to John’s angered state and answers truthfully.</p>
<p>“It’s surveillance from your flat, Dr Watson. Old footage. We are going through footage from the past couple of weeks, the same ones Mr Marcus himself had access to, just to see if we can spot something that could have triggered these recent developments.”</p>
<p>This explanation does nothing to calm John down.</p>
<p>“But that’s <i>my</i> living room!”</p>
<p>“Yes, it is.” The man actually has the gall to sound puzzled by John’s outrage. </p>
<p>“Are you saying that you have a bloody camera installed in <i>my</i> living room? Without my knowledge or consent??! For how long has this been going on??”<br/>“Since Mr Holmes moved in, give or take a few days.”</p>
<p>John feels like he is about to explode and everything that has been happening in that room passes before his eyes in a quick recap while his cheeks turn heated, things he until now thought were private. </p>
<p>Heated arguments with Sherlock, botched-up dates, awkward snogging on the sofa with the few women he managed to lure up the seventeen steps to the flat, hot-tempered and very painful discussions with Harry over the phone, lazy Sundays lounging half-naked in his chair watching crap telly, sneaking a look at Sherlock’s undressed form whenever given the opportunity, every bloody fart, bum-scratch or burp he ever let out while believing he was alone and unobserved! </p>
<p>The realisation of this makes his blood boil as he considers the invasion of privacy that has been breached without him having so much as a clue.</p>
<p>Sure, he knows about Mycroft going well and beyond keeping an eye on Sherlock, the CCTV cameras, the agents that occasionally shadow them, the man’s own intrusive visits to the flat, it has always been a part of their existance.</p>
<p>But this! </p>
<p>This is next level, even for Mycroft and if here right now he would find himself with Johns hands around his throat, squeezing hard against his windpipes.</p>
<p>Instead John has to turn his anger at the minion available instead.</p>
<p>“Listen. As soon as the bastard who is you boss returns, I will be having some pretty strong words with him about this. But in the meantime, you will get the hell out of this room right now, not a sound, just scuttle off and I will be the one in charge of looking through the rest of the footage from now on!”</p>
<p>The man waivers between the evident anger John is showcasing and the very long shadow of doom his employer casts, but as one threat is present right now while the other is not, he finally does what he is told, grabs his phone from the table next to the computer and leaves. </p>
<p>As he is about to close the door behind him, John calls out one final order.</p>
<p>“Get me a cup of coffee, no sugar, as black as you can possibly get it. Then you may go find yourself a new task or just bugger off. Neither you nor anyone else for that matter is getting within an inch of this material from now on!”</p>
<p>If the door is closed with a little more force than necessary, he doesn’t care, he simply slumps down into the chair, draws a hand over his face to calm himself before he pushes play and sees Sherlock’s lip make contact with the tea cup, a large sip of liquid going down that long pale throat of his. </p>
<p>John sighs heavily. </p>
<p>If this is the content he is going to be looking at, assumingly for the next couple of hours, he is going to be needing something stronger to prevent his thoughts from diverting to other, more pleasurable feelings. </p>
<p>No wonder Jeremy Marcus became spell-bound if this is what he was forced to look at day in and day out. </p>
<p>If John didn’t hate him with every fibre of his body, he would perhaps be able to empathize with the man’s plight, at least a little bit. </p>
<p>There is a lot of fodder for sexual fantasies whenever Sherlock is the focus of the screen, all those small details that would drive John wild with desire occasionally, causing him to press his nails brutally into the soft flesh of his palms just to prevent himself from staring too obviously. </p>
<p>He can’t bear the thought of never seeing Sherlock’s achingly familiar form ever again, however tortuous it sometimes felt to only be able to steal a glance or two without being allowed to reach out and touch. </p>
<p>An errant curl down the detective’s forehead, the chewing of that plush lower lip, a lash fallen against those sharp cheek-bones. The mere memory creates a distracting tingling sensation in John’s abdomen and it certainly doesn’t improve by watching Sherlock in high-resolution on a big tv-screen.</p>
<p>When the agent returns with the coffee, John order him to fetch him a glass of whiskey as well.</p>
<p>“And I want the fancy brand I know Mycroft has stored away somewhere, none of that cheap stuff that burns a hole in your throat with every sip. If he objects, tell him that he bloody well <i>owes</i> me after this discovery.”</p>
<p>The agents disapprovingly purses his mouth, not unlike Mycroft himself when being in a particularly prissy mood, but John waives him away and turns his attention back to the screen where Sherlock has long ago finished his tea and is now bending over a book lying on the desk, his back against the camera. </p>
<p>
  <i>Damn him and his enticingly tight white shirt playing over planes of firm musculature! </i>
</p>
<p>John curses under his breath while taking a large gulp of the scorching hot coffee.</p>
<p>After he has been delivered the whiskey, a generous helping in a paper cup of all things, as if John is not to be trusted with any fancy glassware, he locks the door and delves into his mission with newly found ardour. </p>
<p>For a while it feels like time stands still, like the reason for why he is doing this is no longer relevant and he just watches what happens on the screen as their time from the last couple of weeks is put on repeat in front of him.</p>
<p>There are many segments when absolutely nothing happens, it’s just an empty room, the only thing that changes are the positions of items that are moved about by the inhabitants of the flat as well as by Mrs Hudson. </p>
<p>Then there are endless feeds of the two of them sitting, lying or standing around silently, minding their own business, taking comfort in each other’s company but content to do so without words being spoken. </p>
<p>His lips purses occasionally and twitches as well as he recollects certain moments like the argument about strychnine in the sugar bowl that had simply been labelled with the letter D as in “danger”, perfectly logical in Sherlock’s opinion but straight out preposterous not to mention alarming for someone about to pour a spoonful of it into his morning coffee. </p>
<p>Or that time when the plumbing broke in the middle of a shower and John had rushed out naked and swearing, still not having managed to wrap a towel around his waist when he was faced with Lestrade’s shocked face staring at him from the sofa, unable to stop his eyes to wander for just the briefest of seconds to John’s lower regions in curiosity while Sherlock droned on about a case in the background, unaware of what was happening behind his back.</p>
<p>And then there’s that time when Mycroft came around while Sherlock was having a full-on strop, on account of the lack of interesting cases, and John had decided to flee the flat before things turned positively nuclear. </p>
<p>He watches himself from a few weeks ago pick up his jacket in panic without turning to face the two brothers who are throwing daggers with their eyes at each other, and then rushing out of the flat.</p>
<p>He never did learn how that situation turned out because when he returned hours later Sherlock was having a soak in the bath and then Lestrade came by and business was back to usual again.</p>
<p>He stares at the brothers staring at each other on the screen, immovable, and he contemplates pushing the forward button when Mycroft suddenly rises from his chair and begins to take a step forward, towards Sherlock.</p>
<p>Just as John waits to see what will happen next, as he usually doesn’t stick around to see the aftermath when things turn toxic between the Holmes brothers, he hears the sound of the door being unlocked behind his back, so he presses the pause button and turns around to face the person he assumes must be Mycroft, hopefully coming to deliver some news, but likely is here simply to stare disapprovingly at the glass of whiskey and John’s finger on the remote. </p>
<p>Mycroft on the screen freezes on the spot but the live version by the door does indeed make use of his mobility by forming the most curt twist of his lips, taking in the situation in front of him before his eyes switches to himself on the screen.</p>
<p>Trying to cut off the inevitable lecture that is surely about to spill out of the man’s lips, John interrupts that impulse by being quicker.</p>
<p>“Any news? What did the men watching the borders have to say?”</p>
<p>Mycroft turns his eyes away from the screen and locks them with John’s instead.</p>
<p>“Nothing. There is nothing new. As I knew all along. It’s like they vanished into thin air.”</p>
<p>John shakes his head at that.</p>
<p>“You know as well as I do that such a thing isn’t possible. We simply need to keep looking.”</p>
<p>Mycroft gives him the closest thing to an eye-roll without actually performing one. He isn’t Sherlock after all.</p>
<p>“Of course. And we are. Meanwhile, you are making yourself useful in here I see?”</p>
<p>John juts his chin out in defiance.</p>
<p>“You know, you have nothing to chide me for in this situation. <i>You</i> had <i>my</i> home under surveillance with a hidden camera! Without informing me about it!”</p>
<p>Mycroft is perfectly unphased by this outburst.</p>
<p>“Naturally. I always need to take precautions when it comes to Sherlock. His safety is my main concern. Believe me when I say that my men are professionals, they hardly care about the comings and goings of an ex-army doctor.”</p>
<p>This immediately pisses John off. </p>
<p>“Oh, <i>professionals</i>, are they? Like the one who just abducted your precious brother straight under your nose! Yes, I can see all that surveillance working out really nice and effectively for you!”</p>
<p>Mycroft’s lips purse even tighter in disapproval but at least he doesn’t answer back whatever it is he is probably dying to throw in John’s face. </p>
<p>Instead he simply changes the subject.</p>
<p>“There are hours and hours of footage on those files, you will never be able to go through it all on your own. For the sake of Sherlock’s safety I suggest you focus on assignments where your efforts are more effective. Like continuing to try and trace down someone from Sherlock’s group of ....<i>street urchins</i>. Tell them that there is monetary profit to be had if they simply cooperate and answer some of our questions.” </p>
<p>He puts as much contempt as he can possibly muster into the word “<i>street urchins</i>” and John feels the overwhelming impulse to just give Mycroft a forceful blow to his patrician beak of a nose</p>
<p>But as much as it chagrins him to give Mycroft as much as an inch of being right, John can see that such an assignment would be more his sort of job than watching hours upon hours of his domestic life presented as a rerun on a screen. </p>
<p>He has always been a man of action rather than sitting still in a chair, going through a vast amount of evidence. How Lestrade manages to do it on a daily basis without succumbing to boredom has always been a puzzle to him.</p>
<p>“Fine,” he grits out. “I’ll just finish my drink and then I’ll be on my way.” </p>
<p>He raises the paper cup with Mycroft’s fine whiskey provocatively in a salute before moving it to his mouth, and as expected Mycroft turns in annoyance and leaves.</p>
<p>“One of my men will escort you out of the building and you can use a car if you like as a smoother way of transportation. I’ll be in contact if anything new happens and I expect the same curtesy from you as well,” he throws over his shoulder before disappearing down the hall, back to the surveillance room.</p>
<p>John downs the remains of the whiskey in one go and then casts a final glance at the picture of Mycroft frozen in place on the screen, hovering above Sherlock’s still seated form. </p>
<p>What happens next is more a spur of the moment kind of thing than anything else and only possible because he spots a phone charger, most likely belonging to the agent, hanging limply from its socket on the wall. </p>
<p>The moment he sees it, he makes a decision, tugs the cable with the USB connector out, puts one end of it into his own phone and the other end into the computer and downloads the file. There isn’t enough room on his phone for any larger files, so it ends up just being the segment he was currently watching. </p>
<p>If nothing else, he might at least find out what happens in the flat when he leaves the Holmes brothers to their own devices.</p>
<p>Then he removes his phone, puts the charger back together and leaves.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Unexpected revelation</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The next 24 hours turn into 48 and then 72 before he stumbles back home, exhausted, hollow and still as clueless to Sherlock’s whereabouts as he has been all along. </p>
<p>With the memory of Mycroft’s hidden cameras still intact, he doesn’t feel comfortable spending any time in the flat, especially as every inch of the place reminds him of Sherlock. </p>
<p>So instead he barges upstairs, packs a duffel bag with some fresh clothes and his computer as well as a toothbrush and his gun. By now, if he ever manages to catch that bastard Jeremy Marcus, John won’t be averse to putting a bullet between his eyes if it comes to it, he feels at the end of his wits and the uncertainty of Sherlock’s fate has been eating away at his resolve. He weighs the gun in his hand before packing it and then leaves again, managing to avoid Mrs Hudson and her endless questions. </p>
<p>He can’t deal with her now, not when he is unravelling by the seams. She will simply have to wait or turn to Mycroft if she wants further information. </p>
<p>He has no idea how much she knows by now but it can hardly have escaped her that one of her tenants has gone completely missing and the other one is hardly spending any time in the flat either. </p>
<p>For some reason, the news of Sherlock’s disappearance has not caught the media yet, not even Scotland Yard knows in any official capacity beyond the closest group of people, those working with Sherlock on a regular basis. Mycroft wants to keep it like that so it's probably his arrangement, afraid that any police involvement might spook Mr Marcus into doing something rash. </p>
<p>The presence of Mycroft’s agents rummaging through the flat looking for clues must have spooked Mrs Hudson though and he feels a bit guilty for not taking the time himself to explain what’s going on, but right now, when everything that matters to him has been taken from him, he just can’t.  </p>
<p>He heads straight for a motel not far away from the clinic where he had been working only a few days ago. </p>
<p>He has not yet managed to rid himself of the feeling of regret whenever he considers that he went to work while Jeremy Marcus most likely already had Sherlock in his possession. </p>
<p>The time of the abduction is still unclear as there are no obvious time stamps confirming the time of disappearance. </p>
<p>Sherlock has always made a point of trying to avoid Mycroft’s surveillance cameras and on the evening when he headed out to gather mud samples he disappeared fairly quickly out of sight. </p>
<p>That doesn’t necessarily mean that he was abducted straight away, it just means that no one was able to spot him. </p>
<p>However, there is no footage of him from any areas close to the riverbanks and that would have been difficult to avoid even for someone with Sherlock’s expertise, so chances are that he was taken fairly early during the evening. But considering Sherlock’s changeability it cannot be ruled out that he didn’t head straight to the riverbanks or that he simply changed his mind and went somewhere else instead. </p>
<p>The fact that Jeremy Marcus was last in contact with a member of the surveillance team an hour before Sherlock’s departure from Baker Street means that the abduction could have taken place anytime during the evening or later still. </p>
<p>Mr Marcus absence was not noticed until after Sherlock’s disappearance and his whereabouts are completely unaccounted for, not a sign anywhere of any activities made by him. And since he was not expected to be in contact with anyone, he was free to accomplish his mission without interference.</p>
<p>What John has learned about Jeremy Marcus so far is that he is a man who kept mostly to himself. In his late forties, non-descript appearance, very capable at his job, extremely good at strategy and ironically enough a person Sherlock would probably have approved of during different circumstances, as they share the same penchant for logical thinking and Sherlock always likes it when people are efficient. </p>
<p>There is also a probability that Sherlock for some reason went willingly with his abductor, most likely being fed a good lie as to why he should go with him. </p>
<p>Mycroft seems to support this theory even if everything they have so far are actually just theories. Sherlock himself would be appalled by the way they work a case around hypotheses instead of facts, but as there are no solid facts to be had, theories are all they have. </p>
<p>And besides, Sherlock isn’t around to scold them anyway.</p>
<p>Everything John has been told about Mr Marcus has been second-hand information, none of the men he talks to has met with him in person, but they have all heard of him. Even Mycroft can’t describe him in detail because they only communicated through phone or e-mails.</p>
<p>When it’s time for a photo of the man to be produced, there are none to be found, only retellings from what everyone has heard that he looks like. <br/>The only common description seems to be that he looks non-descript, and considering that no one seems to recollect ever having met with the man, that seems about right. </p>
<p>John questions Mycroft over the fact that a man who seems more like an illusion than a real person has been allowed such a prominent position within the organisation, but Mycroft merely mutters that being untraceable and easily forgotten are good traits in this line of business. </p>
<p>John can tell though that the point has struck Mycroft as well, even if he likes to pretend that it is nothing out of the ordinary. </p>
<p>Whoever this man is, he has done a phenomenal job of pulling this abduction off, especially when you consider that the victim is Sherlock <i>bloody</i> Holmes and that Mycroft Holmes is part of the rescue team. Two of the greatest minds John has ever encountered, and yet completely helpless in the face of recent events. Whoever this Jeremy Marcus is, he has them completely beaten. </p>
<p>The only redeeming fact is that Sherlock most likely isn’t harmed in any way. </p>
<p>The gossip about Mr Marcus’s obsession with his object of study is, like everything else, simply hearsay, no one has heard or seen anything for themselves to turn gossip into facts, but the story goes that the obsession began to develop a few months ago, grew stronger as time passed by and resulted in Mr Marcus deciding to take charge of the camera surveillance himself, just to be able to always have Sherlock in his sight. </p>
<p>There is no confirmation of this, but it fits the narrative, so it is more or less accepted as factual. They have no other clues, so a theory sprung out of gossip is better than nothing after all. </p>
<p>And John can actually relate, he knows the magnetic pull of Sherlock Holmes at first hand so he considers it fully plausible that a man in charge of watching Sherlock through a camera all day sooner or later will either lose his marbles completely or simply fall under the spell of the allure that is the mercurial personality of the consulting detective. </p>
<p>In this case, it seems a little bit of both has occurred and the end result is a man so smitten with his victim that he has managed to arrange the most waterproof capture ever organized in the history of tricky abduction cases. </p>
<p>If Sherlock wasn’t the victim himself, he would probably be giddy with glee at the thought of trying to solve it.</p>
<p>And as this isn’t a normal kidnapping scenario, no pleas for a ransom will be made as Mr Marcus already has what he wants, thereby preventing them from getting in any sort of contact with him, it looks more and more difficult to come to a satisfying conclusion.</p>
<p>Tiredly John slumps down on the motel bed and begins to undress. He is still wearing the same clothes he chose the morning Mycroft came to tell him about the abduction. </p>
<p>It seems like weeks has passed since then and as he peels his socks off, they actually reek a little bit. </p>
<p>The loss of Sherlock is beginning to cause a physical ache in his chest that threatens to never go away and the need to see his friend again, if only for a second, to hear that he is alive, would be enough to calm John’s nerves, to prevent him from picking up his gun now and again, weighing it in his hand as he contemplates mercilessly shooting a person who so far is nothing more than a taunting shadow. </p>
<p>He is exhausted, starving, grieving as well as angry and it’s just one overwhelming feeling too many. He wishes he had a photo of Sherlock, or a snippet of film, something, just to get the opportunity to see him like John remembers him, to hear his voice at least.</p>
<p>And then he remembers that he actually has something to soothe that desire a little bit. </p>
<p>He pulls out his phone and opens up the file he downloaded from Mycroft’s surveillance feed and then he plays it. </p>
<p>It’s the whole segment, beginning with Mycroft entering the room, Sherlock being in a foul mood and John rather quickly making excuses to leave as the sniping is already threatening to become overbearing. </p>
<p>Then Mycroft rises and this is where John stopped watching the last time.</p>
<p>On his phone John watches the older brother as he crosses the distance between him and Sherlock, saying something about loyalty to family. </p>
<p>He has brought a case with him that he wants Sherlock to take a look at but Sherlock is naturally having none of it, as per usual. There is more sniping between them and Mycroft reaches out his hand to grab at Sherlock’s wrist as if to rein him in or calm him down perhaps.</p>
<p>And that’s when John notices it. </p>
<p>It’s small but it’s there if you know what to look for and John immediately sees it,  despite his tired eyes. </p>
<p>A glitch. </p>
<p>This means that the file has been tampered with, which immediately sets John’s alarm bells ringing loudly. </p>
<p>Because the first frame is of Mycroft hovering over Sherlock with his hand extended towards his wrist and the next one is that as well but with the hand not in the exact same position as previously.</p>
<p>So what is it that has been removed from between those two instances? </p>
<p>It’s so miniscule that if he hadn’t been staring so intently at it he would not have noticed it, but it is the way Mycroft’s hand has somehow moved, from being close to Sherlock’s wrist in the first frame to resting on the lower part of Sherlock’s arm in the next that causes John to realise that something has been occurring in between. </p>
<p>A blink of an eye and he would have literary missed it.</p>
<p>Luckily for him he hasn’t and he squints at the small screen of his phone while trying to wrap his head around what exactly it is that he sees.</p>
<p>The position of one of Mycroft’s fingers that lingers against the pulse point of the wrist, almost like a caress if that wouldn’t have been so extremely unlikely, is what catches John’s attention, makes him hit pause, rewind and watch again over and over until he doesn’t know what it is that he is trying to achieve, but at the same time being so certain that what he is looking at might be a whole new twist in this already unfathomable mystery of Sherlock’s disappearance. </p>
<p>Because from that lingering finger close to the radius point to suddenly being placed more modestly higher up on the ulna is trying to tell John something while his mind can’t manage to wrap itself around what exactly it is that he is seeing. </p>
<p>But the fact that it is something is evident since someone has seen fit to edit the film after all. </p>
<p>The question is who and what the missing footage is showing.</p>
<p>The obvious answer would of course be Mycroft but at the same time it seems unlikely because what would he have to hide? </p>
<p>And isn’t it really his minions, not the man himself that deals with the surveillance and the technicalities of it? </p>
<p>People like Jeremy Marcus.....</p>
<p>Sure, Mycroft probably does his own share of snooping by watching some of the surveillance material himself, he is just that type of control freak to be unable to resist it from time to time, but the main bulk of it must be delegated to staff, Mycroft simply wouldn’t have the time to spare, busy man that he is. </p>
<p>It also stands to reason that the technical part of the surveillance is assigned to others, because even if Mycroft is more brain than human and surely could figure out how to set up equipment himself if necessary, he is also a man who like most men in his position, and very much unlike his younger brother, doesn’t like to get his hands dirty by doing things himself and John simply can’t see Mycroft installing the surveillance equipment on his own. </p>
<p>But at the same time, it is <i>Mycroft’s</i> hand lingering on that pulsating point on Sherlock’s wrist, a highly unusual position to be resting your fingers when you consider the kind of relationship the brothers have been cultivating between them, as well as the harshness in tone that accompanies this scene. </p>
<p>There is something almost intimate about the gesture while at the same time nothing but a finger’s touch to another person’s radius point. A brother to boot, siblings are allowed signs of affection between them after all, without it being in any way suspicious.</p>
<p>Had it not been Sherlock and Mycroft, John wouldn’t have given it a second’s thought and if not for the fact that there is a glitch in the reel, he would probably not have put as much importance to it, frowned perhaps, because <i>Mycroft</i> showing anyone any kind of affection? But other than that, no.</p>
<p> It’s the fact that something between Mycroft’s touch of the wrist and his more wholesome, but still surprisingly intimate contact with the lower part of Sherlock arm, has been deleted that sets John senses on alert.</p>
<p>He recalls what he knows of the aftermath of that particular afternoon and there sadly isn’t much. </p>
<p>Sherlock soaking in the bath when John returned home, Lestrade coming in with a case an hour later, nothing more. </p>
<p>John doesn’t even know if Sherlock ever took that case Mycroft brought with him. </p>
<p>All he remembers is the sound of water running from the taps in the bathroom while filling up the tub and then silence until Sherlock emerged almost a full hour later, dressed in one of his silky robes, curls wet, sending rivulets of dampness down his neck and throat, causing John’s own throat to constrict a little at the sight. </p>
<p>Then Lestrade came pounding up the stairs and broke the moment by waving a document in his hand and talking rapidly, pushing Sherlock into case-mode and the game was shortly after afoot. </p>
<p>The memory of Sherlock emerging from the bathroom, all wet and steamy makes John recollect that morning when Mycroft came to the flat to tell John about the abduction and he himself had been standing wrapped in his bathrobe, still damp from his morning shower. </p>
<p>Mycroft had headed straight for the bathroom instead of Sherlock’s bedroom. </p>
<p>At the time John had thought that it had been because of him being in there, shaving, but Mycroft usually never bothers with John, never seeks out his opinion or company, never cares for his presence. </p>
<p>Granted, he would probably have wanted to inform John of the situation, but still, in hindsight, it had been an unusual move. Mycroft had said so himself, that he came to see if Sherlock was actually still there, and the door to Sherlock’s bedroom had been closed, had not going there first been a more logical choice?</p>
<p>Later during that visit Mycroft had used the bathroom, before departing. This detail nags at John’s attention, it had done so even back then, because Mycroft never used their facilities otherwise, if nothing else he always abhorred the state of the flat and wouldn’t deign using their bathroom for anything, not wanting to run  the risk of catching something from one of Sherlock ‘s endless experiments.  </p>
<p>But no, this time, he had clearly made an exception and why was that?</p>
<p>And then it hits him the way he imagines Sherlock must feel like when he has a breakthrough in a particularly tricky case.</p>
<p>The use of the bathroom, the only place where a person can get any sort of privacy by locking the door without it seeming suspicious presents the perfect opportunity to remove something from there while John, as an additional advantage, was getting dressed upstairs. </p>
<p>Something small and difficult to discover for a person unaware of its existence perhaps, despite using that facility on a daily basis. </p>
<p>Like a surveillance camera.</p>
<p>Exactly like the one he had accidentally found out was hidden in the living room. </p>
<p>The thought had not crossed him back then, naturally, as he had not been aware of the surveillance of the living room yet, but now it seems plausible that someone with Mycroft’s obsession with information and surveillance would not have settled for only <i>one</i> camera in the flat.</p>
<p>He thinks once more about Sherlock soaking in the bathtub, this time with the insight that if there actually was a camera installed in there, whoever was watching must have been given quite a sight. </p>
<p>And for some reason John can’t see Mycroft allowing a member of his surveillance team, not even the one in charge, the opportunity to ogle at his brother’s naked form in such a private environment as the bathroom. </p>
<p>John draws a breath as another piece of the puzzle is sliding into place. He can’t be certain of course, it’s just a hunch and a pretty far-fetched one he doesn’t know if he is willing to pursue to the end if it threatens to reveal something so twisted that he can’t even begin to imagine it. </p>
<p>At the same time, he has all these little segments that slots so nicely together if he choses to go down that road, and for the sake of Sherlock’s safety, he might have to. </p>
<p>But there are other critical pieces still missing that he yet is unable to see, and he is beginning to tire of Mycroft trying to keep things from him, preventing him from getting a better view of events.</p>
<p>He has felt it all along, the way Mycroft almost reluctantly and more out of obligation than anything else, has kept him fairly updated on the abduction but nothing more. </p>
<p>He has been forced to involve John of course, Sherlock is his flatmate and closest friend after all, anything else would have been strange. But John is beginning to feel certain that if Mycroft wasn’t forced to include him out of pure courtesy, he wouldn’t.</p>
<p>This, along with the ridiculously elusive Jeremy Marcus, a person no one so far seems to have ever met in person, the hidden surveillance of their flat, the edited segment in the surveillance film and Mycroft’s odd behaviour, both on the morning of him coming to Baker Street looking for Sherlock, the visit to the bathroom, and then his increasing reluctance to involve John any more than strictly necessary in the hunt for Sherlock’s abductor, combined with the unusual attitude that finding Sherlock is a lost cause already, is causing the alarm bells in John to ring even louder now. Mycroft has never  before come off as a person easily accepting defeat, especially not when it comes to somethig as important as his brother and his safety. </p>
<p>There is clearly something going on that HE cannot see yet, but John is determined to figure it out.</p>
<p>He and Mycroft are down to phone calls now instead of meeting in person and John gets the distinct feeling that if he would stop actively seeking out any new information from Mycroft’s team, he would not be getting any.</p>
<p> When this is done and over with, if it ever gets to that point, John is going to permanently erase Mycroft Holmes from his life and never set eyes on him ever again. </p>
<p>Whatever his role in this might be, the man is clearly hiding something and even if it takes John an eternity to find out what it is, he is determined to get to the bottom of it.</p>
<p>But for now, he needs to focus on what evidence he has managed to gather and unfortunately that means another visit to The Diogenes is in store. </p>
<p>If nothing else, he wants a confirmation that there had been a camera installed in their bathroom and he wants Mycroft to explain what that glitch in the surveillance film is about. </p>
<p>So it’s either going to the Diogenes or showing up at Mycroft’s house and John infinitely thinks the former to be his best option, at least there will be witnesses if Mycroft for some reason decides that John needs to stop asking questions. </p>
<p>The fact that Mycroft has always been dangerous isn’t exactly news, but never before has John realised to what extent Mycroft’s personality is truly twisted. </p>
<p>John might not yet have all the pieces in order but the picture beginning to form on account of these new discoveries is giving him a feeling of nausea and creepiness already and if he ever gets to see the end of this, he is certain that Mycroft Holmes will have transformed from sinister but impassive spectre to straight-out despicable villain.</p>
<p>But this time John has the advantage of being one step ahead and he is coming prepared.</p>
<p>He decides to forego the much-needed sleep and gets dressed once more before he heads out to hail a cab that will take him to the Diogenes. </p>
<p>He has his phone with the manipulated file in his pocket as well as the gun tucked inside his jacket and he is determined to get some proper answers this time. If he doesn't....</p>
<p>Well he has his gun with him after all....</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Prisoner</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The sound of the squeaking of the chair under his weight makes his facial features twist for a brief second before he manages to settle himself comfortably. He loosens his tie as well as unbuttoning his waistcoat before his finger presses the remote and the large screen in front of him turns alive.</p>
<p>He presses play and it is a familiar scenario that springs to life. </p>
<p>Familiar because he was actually there in person so he knows the narrative already, but despite this fact he can’t help but wince at the overly dramatic tone his own person has opted for when he watches himself put on a show for Sherlock’s pathetic flatmate. </p>
<p>He knew at the time that he might have been dangerously close to crossing the line to pantomime, he is not after all the real actor of the family and didn’t really know how far he should take it. </p>
<p>He has seen it in movies, read about it in books, occasionally seen it in other people, the panic, grief and despair of losing someone you love and he had done his best to mimic those telling signs, but clearly overdone it. </p>
<p>His performance goes against the personality traits John has been presented with from him before and instead of coming off convincingly it confuses the doctor more than anything else.</p>
<p> It’s clear from his facial expressions that he is puzzled by Mycroft’s behaviour.</p>
<p>That’s really the difference between him and Sherlock. </p>
<p>Sherlock would have known, he would not have chewed the scenery like Mycroft does on the screen. It was pure luck that John Watson didn’t smell a rat that day.</p>
<p> Mycroft cringes a little bit when he watches himself put on the performance of being shell-shocked. It’s not a role that would come easily for a man like him, few if any things manage to shake him to the core and if something does, he most certainly doesn’t put on a show about it. </p>
<p>But it had seemed like a good idea at the time. </p>
<p>After all, normal humans expect those kinds of emotions being displayed under circumstances like these. John Watson would probably have been equally puzzled if Mycroft had marched in to declare that his brother had been abducted without showing so much as a sign of distress at news like that. </p>
<p>Anyway, too late to redo any of his choices now, it doesn’t really matter anymore. </p>
<p>John is off chasing an enigma he will never be able to catch because that person doesn’t exist, and Mycroft has managed what he set out to accomplish when hatching this plan to begin with.</p>
<p>Done with watching himself put on a cringe-worthy performance, he switches to another camera, a live-feed version this time.</p>
<p>And despite whatever claims people have made of him having a large empty cavity where his heart should be, it does make itself known by increasing in heartrate a little bit, sending a tingle down his abdomen when his eyes fondly catches the sight in front of him.</p>
<p>Languidly lying on the opulent Victorian four-poster bed, because when would his brother do anything without looking nothing but graceful, one hand under his head, the other one casually hanging over the edge of the bed, the dark curls like a spread-out halo around his face on the pillow, looking like Snow white incarnated. </p>
<p>Mycroft never tires of the sight, never has, never will.</p>
<p>To think that John Watson actually imagined himself having a chance at getting this, taking claim over Mycroft’s precious little brother as if it was actually a realistic option. Taking the he only person Mycroft has ever cared for, the only person he can’t allow to be wasted on anyone else.</p>
<p>It simply had to be stopped.</p>
<p>Because despite all of Sherlock’s pretty words of being uninterested in anything to do with love and emotions, Mycroft also knows that John Watson isn’t like those others who have tried their luck in the past with his brother. </p>
<p>There is a bond between the two flatmates, he saw it already on that first night, even if he tried to tamper down the uneasy feeling he got when seeing them walk away together into the night after having solved the case of  the cab driver turned serial killer.</p>
<p>It doesn’t automatically mean that John would have succeed in his endeavours to become more intimate with Sherlock, considering his poor dating history and the frankly subpar technique he uses when trying to get a person to sleep with him. </p>
<p>Mycroft is pretty sure any first attempts would have been shot down. </p>
<p>But what about the second effort? Or the third?</p>
<p>They were living together already, sharing the adrenaline rush of their cases, practically a couple in every sense of the word despite the small but very significant last piece of intimacy still missing that would have made them complete as a couple.</p>
<p>No, Mycroft could simply not sit back and allow that happen. </p>
<p>And when he, trough the camera installed in the bathroom of the Baker Street flat, one morning had spotted John panting Sherlock’s name while getting himself off in the shower, it had really sealed the deal for him. </p>
<p>He had already previously suspected that the good doctor’s interest might have been piqued, but people in general were always fascinated with Sherlock one way or another, that didn’t necessarily mean that they wanted to sleep with him. </p>
<p>This more direct proof of John’s pumping fist around his cock combined with panting his flatmate’s name while evidentially picturing Sherlock as he pleasured himself did however confirm Mycroft’s suspicions.</p>
<p>And he could simply not tolerate it.</p>
<p>The bathroom camera turned into a nasty piece of information supplier after that moment, when previously having provided him with much more pleasurable views.</p>
<p> He knew he had to nip it in the bud or risk being exposed to even more horrible feeds.</p>
<p>Before he had managed to come up with a plan that would remove the risk of anything ever happening between his brother and the doctor there had been more signs of a romance threating to develop in the Baker Street household and he came to the realisation that John wasn’t a procrastinator but a doer who had already began trying to set his seduction plans in motion while Mycroft was trying to come up with his own plan of putting a stop to it. </p>
<p>It was sheer luck that Sherlock, when it came to the subject of love, was so obtuse, however surprising as it was to use such a word when describing his little brother.</p>
<p>John had opted for too small and subtle hints so far and the object of his desires had stubbornly remained oblivious, to Mycroft’s great relief.  </p>
<p>While plotting, Mycroft had realised that removing the obstacle of John Watson from his brother’s life could easily backfire considering the attachment Sherlock had formed with his flatmate. </p>
<p>If he were killed by some “unfortunate accident”, the grief could trigger Sherlock’s latent drug use into action once more and Mycroft was not prepared to deal with that option ever again. </p>
<p>If the doctor instead mysteriously went missing, a solution Mycroft was the master of arranging, it would simply mean that Sherlock would forever fruitlessly search for him, looking at it as another case that needed to be cracked. </p>
<p>And knowing his brother’s tenacity, a hunt like that could go on forever. </p>
<p>So better to remove Sherlock instead and let John Watson become the person left behind, ceaselessly searching for his lost friend, unable to ever figure out the true answer to his flatmate’s mysterious disappearance.</p>
<p>When Mycroft had reached this final solution, the rest had been a mare matter of details. </p>
<p>The invention of Jeremy Marcus proved easy enough, using a combination of his own personal traits combined with the ones of a criminal element they had caught wind off six months ago by the name of James Moriarty. </p>
<p>The man is as elusive as the fictional Jeremy Marcus and an expert at leaving no traces behind, and no one has ever managed to put a face on him, being more like a menacing presence than a physical man. </p>
<p>Mycroft remembers wanting to breach the topic of the elusive criminal threat with Sherlock when he stumbled upon the man’s reputation, but he had decided against it back then, out of fear that Sherlock’s interest would be too piqued. </p>
<p>Irony has it that James Moriarty proved useful with his talent for keeping himself anonymous, making him perfect to use as inspiration when creating Sherlock’s imaginary kidnapper. </p>
<p>The rest had simply been a matter of money and orders being exchanged, a fake investigation, people being bribed to keep quiet, himself acting the part of a concerned brother and continue to drill in the message into John’s head that it will be impossible to ever catch the abductor. </p>
<p>There was that small mishap when the doctor managed to stumble upon the agent going through old surveillance footage of the flat. </p>
<p>Luckily, Mycroft had already edited a lot of the more compromising bits so the damage was minimal, bit it still annoys him that he had failed to prevent Dr Watson from almost exposing his little secret. </p>
<p>An agent can easily be bribed, but Sherlock’s flatmate is unfortunately of sterner stuff, all honourable and full of principles. How he has managed to live with Sherlock without losing some of that morality is a question that keeps baffling Mycroft from time to time. </p>
<p>Eventually Mycroft will officially accept defeat in the search for his brother, even if he knows John never truly will accept it, and by then this whole episode will be over and done with. </p>
<p>He will have to keep the charade going for at least a couple of months yet, but the investigation will gradually diminish until it one day will be turned into a cold case, forever hidden in the archives where no one but John and Mycroft will know of its existence. </p>
<p>He is already looking forward to that day.</p>
<p>The figure on the bed stirs slightly but his eyes remain closed and will continue to do so for at least a few hours which means that Mycroft has plenty of time to observe. </p>
<p>He isn’t normally a person who cares about the superficial qualities in others, but just like his brother’s intellect is dazzlingly sharp like a diamond, there is something about his appearance that appeals to Mycroft on a solely aesthetic level. So he indulges freely by taking in every specific detail of his younger brother’s form as he lies there unconscious on the bed. </p>
<p>As a child Mycroft used to dream of wanting to hide Sherlock away somewhere to prevent others from taking pieces of him, to take him away from his brother. This is as close to that dream as he has ever come, and only because it became a necessity . </p>
<p>Because Sherlock never cared for others before. Granted, he didn't care for Mycroft either but there was never a risk of anyone taking him away.</p>
<p>Not until now. </p>
<p>The injections have proven successful and whatever memory Sherlock once had of John Watson is no longer available in that far-stretching mind palace of his. </p>
<p>Mycroft had for a second considered casting himself in a different role while tampering with Sherlock’s memory, so the unsatisfactory need of watching him through cameras to get his desired fill could turn into a more physical arrangement. It has always bothered him that their relationship is so fraught with resentment and bitterness. But despite greedily considering that option from every angle, he had settled for not risking it after all. </p>
<p>There would be too much material to remove from his brother’s memory if Mycroft’s persona was going to be completely erased and there was always a risk that too much of Sherlock’s personality would be removed along with his memories, so in the end he had settled for this solution.</p>
<p>Eventually Sherlock will be allowed to roam more freely, leave this confinement and be let out. The story of him suffering from some sort of illness will not be enough to hold him in Mycroft’s clutches forever.</p>
<p> But there are other places around the world where Mycroft can keep an eye on him, other cities besides London, other crimes for him to solve, other flats where he can keep experimenting, entertain his appalling untidiness, indulge in his interests privately. A place where Mycroft can continue to watch over him through his cameras.</p>
<p>But no more flatmates. </p>
<p>He had made a mistake in thinking a person living with his brother would be able to help Mycroft keep an eye on him. It has been a costly lesson to learn and he will not be making the same error again.</p>
<p>He will continue to keep a weather eye on John Watson of course, just to make sure that his path will never cross with Sherlock’s again, and because the doggedness of the doctor’s pursuit of his flatmate’s abductor will probably never die down. </p>
<p>It is only common sense to keep tabs on even the most insignificant of threats. </p>
<p>But beyond that, this operation has come to a satisfying conclusion and Mycroft can turn his focus elsewhere from now on, without having to worry about former army doctors trying to hold any influence over his brother.</p>
<p>With a last lingering look on the figure on the bed, he turns the feed off and rises from the chair. </p>
<p>The last and final injection is to be administered within two hours, so there is plenty of time left to turn his attention to what other matters that makes up the daily tasks given to the man who is the British government. </p>
<p>He will also need to make the obligatory phone call to John Watson to inform him that no news has surfaced today either. <br/>It’s a tiresome task but he needs to keep doing it for at least a few more weeks. Then he can switch over to simply letting Anthea send the obligatory report in an e-mail.</p>
<p>He exits the surveillance room while buttoning-up his waistcoat once more and straightening his tie. </p>
<p>A look at his phone informs him that Anthea has sent him a text.</p>
<p>It reads:</p>
<p>
  <i>“John Watson waiting for you in the visitor’s room at the Diogenes. Demand’s your presence urgently. Seems very agitated.”</i>
</p>
<p> Mycroft sighs and steels himself for the tardy task of talking to the man in person. </p>
<p>He thought he had managed to convince the doctor of the advantages of conversing over the phone instead of doing it face to face. </p>
<p>And what reason does he have for being agitated? </p>
<p>Mycroft is doing his very best trying to find Sherlock’s abductor, putting as much of his resources that he can afford into the task. It’s not <i>his</i> fault that progress is going slow. Or standing completely still as a matter of fact. </p>
<p>Well, technically it <i>is</i> his fault, but John Watson doesn’t know that and should not be showing up agitated to confront him about anything, the ungrateful little worm.</p>
<p>Mycroft has grown more bored of this insignificant specimen of a man that he ever thought was possible and now he has the gall to invade Mycroft’s personal sanctum as well, making demands no less. </p>
<p>How very tiresome.....</p>
<p>Well, he is sure that the meeting will be a brief one, as he will have no news of Sherlock’s whereabouts to offer. And he needs to keep an eye on the clock so he can get back here to administer the final injection in time. </p>
<p>Making sure that his facial features settle for the mask he is accustomed to wear when playing the part of government official, he heads out of the room, determined to be back within two hours. </p>
<p>But first he needs to see why John has deemed it necessary to demand his presence at the Diogenes in such a rude and irritating manner.</p>
<p> Whatever the reason, he is sure it will be matter of no importance and consequence to him and he actually whistles a small tune as he grabs his umbrella from the stand, twirling it in his hand for good measure before he heads out the door to meet with John Watson. </p>
<p>Outside the sun is still shining over the roof tops and it has the promise of being an exceptionally fine afternoon.</p>
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